Now, Secy-Chief Engineer spat in Housing Board

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has witnessed another war of words between senior officers. After the confrontation between the Chairman and the CEO, another case of infighting has come to the  fore. The Secretary  of the board, Shilpi Pattar Dutt, and the Chief Engineer, Rajiv Singla, have filed complaints against each other with senior officers.

Sources said while Dutt, in a complaint to the Secretary, Housing, alleged that the Chief Engineer had misbehaved with her at her office, the Chief Engineer countered the  allegation saying that she levelled the allegation to cover up her  own lapses.

The sources  said Dutt alleged that when she called Singla to her office on October 3 to certify files pertaining to outsourcing of services in the CHB, the Chief  Engineer  started  shouting at her and stated that  rules could not be followed completely and he could not certify the proposal.

She said despite her request not to speak with her in such a manner, he did not stop. She said she was appointed chairman of the committee to take a call on the contract for running public toilets. The Chief Engineer was also a member. 

Members of the committee bypassed her and put up the proposal for the opinion of the Legal Remembrancer to the Chairman and got the opinion the same day. The agenda was not routed through her and all facts were not mentioned at the board meeting. She has demanded   an inquiry and strict action against the Chief Engineer. Dutt  could not be contacted despite repeated  attempts. 

The Chief  Engineer also made a complaint to the CHB Chairman and the CEO that despite the order that all cases of the Engineering Department should be routed through the Secretary,  she  had been selectively accepting files.

He listed some cases which were returned by her office without citing any reasons. He wrote that this also happened in the case of outsourcing  of employees when she first directed that all works relating to the engagement of the manpower through a service provider would be  dealt with by the  Accounts Officer   (Admn). However, later sanction was not  given even after the  expiry of the contract.